


Because We're Family

by ShatteredRhapsody



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-10
Updated: 2013-10-13
Packaged: 2017-12-29 01:34:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/999307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShatteredRhapsody/pseuds/ShatteredRhapsody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One parent lives, the other passes. At least Naruto gets a father, but when your dad is the Yondaime Hokage, anything can happen. Anything like discovering a long lost relative with more secrets than Naruto has. </p><p>What if Kushina wasn't one of the last survivors of Uzushiogakure? What went down in her old village and country? No one--save for Iwa--would ever mess with Namikaze Minato and his newborn son, but add in another Uzumaki and you've got one of the toughest families around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Brought over from ff.net
> 
> I have very little love leftover for that site, so I'm slowly bringing them here. Those of you who recognize it will be happy to know I will be posting the new chapters here. I may just rewrite it entirely, it's up in the air right now.

Uzushiogakure was in flames.

Her mother was dead…that much she knew. It didn't matter that she was twelve years old and just barely a Chūnin. It didn't matter how hard she prayed that her favorite cousin, Kushina, somehow escaped; she knew she was dead too.

"Tou-san!" She yelled over the inferno, searching desperately for her father or at least one of her surviving uncles. She had been on the frontline with her parents and older generations of Uzumaki; just so everyone else could escape. But the way it was looking right now…it was no use. Not when the Sandaime Mizukage ordered the Bloodline Purge. Besides her younger cousin being a Jinchūriki, Koriko had recently messed up a simple Fūinjutsu that was meant to find her second elemental affinity. She was distracted by a nearby explosion and drew a character wrong, triggering a much unexpected reaction from the overlapping seals. Her elemental affinity (water of course) became one with her chakra, acting purely on instinct.

She had accidentally created her own Kekkai Genkai similar to those of the infamous Kage that could control their elemental affinities with ease.

"Koriko," she heard a rumbling to her right and nearly screamed at what she saw. Her father was missing an arm and what looked like half his face. "Run, Koriko. Get away from this place," he barked at her as he turned his head to get a better look at their once prosperous village.

"Tou-san," she bit her lip to keep back her sobs, "did…did they get out alive?" She held a kunai between her fingers, her hands clasped together in a sign of hope. When her father's gaze didn't mean hers, she felt her world shatter around her. "Tou-san, tell me!" She didn't dare speak louder lest the Sandaime Mizukage's Hunter Nin hear them.

"I…I don't know. It's time to go, Koriko. Uzushiogakure is lost."

She stubbornly shook her head, red locks flying about her head as she fought the tears. "Not without you, Tou-san." Feeling a pressure on the top of her head, she looked up and cried. Her father's eyes were starting to glaze over as he ruffled her hair. "Live for us, Koriko-chan. Live for Uzushiogakure."

"TOU-SAN!"

 

* * *

 

Koriko didn't know where she was going or how far her feet and chakra would take her. Shunshin would only take a kunoichi so far. All she knew was that she was at the shores of Mizu no Kuni, and that everything she knew was slowly burying itself deep into her memory. She didn't want to think of how only a week ago; her mother told her that she was going to be a big sister. Or that her grandfather was ready to teach her a more advanced lesson on sealing. Or that Kushina—

"Doushite…" she muttered as she stared up at the cloudless sky. She didn't want to live, but Uzumaki pride wouldn't allow her to end it all. Swallowing a sob, she straightened her shoulders and went through her katas; pushing away her memories further with every thrust of her fist and every swipe of her leg in a kick to an imaginary enemy. Over and over she practiced the moves passed down from generations of Uzumaki; and over and over, her imaginary enemy gained a form.

She practiced for weeks…maybe months. Time was nothing to her as long as her memories stayed far away. She practically lived on the shores; living off of what edible food she was able to gather. When an unexpected hurricane came upon her lonely shore, she welcomed it with open arms.

Literally.

When the war came to Uzushio, she was just barely settling into her new ability. Only one way to test how much control she had now. Standing in the shallows, she waited for the tide to come. Waited for the breakers in the waves as it came rushing towards her. And waited when the sky thundered and a massive wave passed over her and dragged her into the sea.

Patience wasn't a known trait for an Uzumaki female.

She fought hard against the waves, forcing chakra through her palms as she swept her arms over her face—or at least tried to. She was desperately trying to form a kind of air bubble over her head but it wasn't working!

_Don't panic…don't panic!_

Thrashing, she forced herself up to the surface and took a gulp of air before she was dragged under once more. She didn't know what to do; didn't know how to fight against nature itself. This was something only her mother knew how to…

_~Flashback~_

" _Stop fighting, Koriko!"_

" _But Kaa-san, the wind is too strong!"_

" _Because you're moving against it. Try moving with it."_

" _How? I don't understand where it's going!"_

" _Then stop moving and_ feel _where it's going."_

_~End Flashback~_

Koriko's eyes snapped open. The salt water stung her eyes as swam to as close to the bottom as she could get. Looking up, she observed the waves from below. Watched them twist and churn before releasing against the sand only for it to be gently pulled back before ruthlessly crashing back onto the shore again. It was different than her mother's affinity, but the lesson remained the same. Her mother helped her adjust to the wind in small steps…so maybe diving headfirst into a hurricane wasn't her best answer.

Now if she could only get back to the shore…

* * *

 

"It's a kid…I think. Or maybe some kind of octopus?"

"That's her hair, you idiot."

"Shut up Zabuza."

"Stupid sushi."

"Stop calling me that!"

Whoever was talking over Koriko's head sure was loud. And obnoxious. And curious by the sound of it. Groaning, Koriko was content to discover that she was on the sand and that the hurricane had passed.

"Holy shit, it's alive!"

"Moron."

Pushing back the fall of hair over her face, Koriko blinked wearily up at the two men before her. One had sharp pointed teeth while he talked, and the other was…blue?

… _the Hell?_

"Um…hi?"

They both blinked at her before locking gazes with each other. They signed to each other—she recognized it as the sign language used by shinobi taught at the Kirigakure Shinobi Academy—before turning back to her. The blue— _why the hell was he blue?—_ man scratched his head and asked, "You're not an Uzumaki are you?"

The retort of "Yeah, and?" nearly slipped before she quickly thought over how much time had passed. Her clan was most likely still being hunted…assuming any were still among the living. "I dunno. I'm an orphan; always have been." The last part sounded more than bitter to her ears, but she mentally shook it off.

She watched them sign to each other again, reading it perfectly as:  _"She could be from a bastard line of the clan. Sub-branch possibly."_

" _Maybe. Maybe not. Doesn't matter anymore though."_

" _That's true. They might as well be extinct."_

Masking her emotions, Koriko gave them a blank stare and signed back.  _"I can understand you, you know."_

Zabuza stared at the strange girl before chuckling, "We can see that you can. What rank are you, onna?"

"Chūnin," she replied mentally going over what she knew about shinobi that carried swords about as tall as they were. The Clan Head once told her about a group of swordsmen so powerful that there were only seven of them per generation. "Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū," she mumbled under her breath.

"Oh?" The blue shark man thing spoke again, "You've heard of us."

"In a manner of speaking," she said quietly. "I've heard stories…all of Mizu no Kuni has."

"She's got you there, sushi."

"…I hate you, Zabuza. You're mother was a—"

"—whore and my father a bastard. Yes, Kisame, we've been over this."

Koriko tuned them out…bickering seemed to be a normal routine for them. Right now, she had to think. These two shinobi could either get her killed or help her grow stronger. She was really hoping for the latter despite her pride yelling at her that she could do it on her own.

Highly doubtful right there.

"…don't make me serve you up sashimi style."

"Quit it with the sushi references already!"

"You're the one who insists on eating his own kind. Cannibal."

Sighing, Koriko hesitantly tapped Kisame's shoulder. "Excuse me, but I was wondering if you could teach me now to be a better shinobi?"

* * *

 

Oh Kami above it  _hurt_. Koriko wondered if she would be better off dead at this point.  _Maybe asking for both of them to train me was the worst idea ever?_  She yelped as she nearly tripped over her own feet to dodge Samehada.

"Stop thinking and  _move_ , Riko-chan!"

"Shut up sushi!"

"And stop listening to Zabuza!"

This style of training was very different than what she was used to. The deal they come up with was that Kisame would teach for six months before switching off with Zabuza, who would teach for the rest of the year. She never questioned why. Not after figuring out that when it was their respective turn to teach, they would make her review previous lessons from their original turn. Overall though, it did help.

"Zabuza, can I study Kubikiribōchō?"

"Why?"

"I just want to see how it absorbs the iron from the blood of enemies?"

"You plan on being a donor?"

"…just give me the damn sword."

...

It took time to rack her mind on memories of seals she was taught when she was a child. She was thirteen now, and even though her teachers wouldn't admit it, she was talented enough to be considered a prodigy. It took her another four months of studying both Zabuza and Kisame's swords before she imitated the absorption abilities with her chakra and elemental affinity.

"So…Ōdachi, eh?"

"Not my fault I'm used to fighting against swords like yours."

"So you've figured it out then?"

"Mostly. Need to run more tests though. Hey Sushi, come here for a second…."

...

Another year passed just in time to finally figure out how to stabilize and destabilize the double Ōdachi with just a thought. Although using it in battle was taking longer than she thought it would. Twice her hair had gotten hacked off because she had been too focused on changing the blade from a solid to a liquid. It wasn't until Zabuza used Kirigakure no Jutsu that the solution finally clicked.

"Riko-chan, you're doing it again."

"But Sushi-san, it's so much easier going from a solid to a liquid and back! I'll just form it half way through like the mist!"

“I see, but these are a bit long to use in close quarter combat. I’m assuming you can also produce something small like wakizashi or tantō.

"Of course, Sushi-san."

"…I hate you. Three more rounds against me and Zabuza."

Koriko groaned.

* * *

 

She was fourteen and a half when she found an ancient sealing scroll during a raid with Zabuza. It happened to relate to her earlier thoughts on forming weapons from chakra and water. In fact, it filled in a lot of the missing holes of her knowledge.

"…blood. Really?"

"Hai. There's water in  _everything_  so therefore, I can control water from  _anything_."

"That's…oddly impressive. Morbidly disgusting, but impressive nonetheless."

"Wanna watch Zabuza slap himself in his sleep?"

...

It was on her fifteenth birthday when she got her first taste of revenge.

She volunteered with her teachers to join the coup d'état of the Sandaime Mizukage. It was definitely a long time coming; only three years of relentless training and she felt as close to ready as she could get. It also didn't take much nagging to get the truth out of Zabuza and Kisame. Either way, the Mizukage had to die.

It took them a few months to assemble defected ninja from Kiri; the Demon Brothers were a nice catch if you ignored how much they argued. They were nearly on par for the annoyance level with Kisame and Zabuza. Thank Kami she had Yagura to keep her mostly sane. He was a very calm and patient man. Well, he was after Uchiha Madara had beaten her to a pulp and negotiated his release to her. Madara was the reason why she was even involved in the coup; he said he found a living relative in Konohagakure but relations were non-existent and it would take time for her to even discover if he was telling the truth or not.

But having a Jinchūriki on their side was a big plus. And considering the sanbi controlled water (to a point) it greatly helped her in her training to master her Kekkai Genkai. That she still had no name for. Dammit.

But back to the present…

The battle was going well from what Yagura's clone was telling her. A few casualties but that was just kunai fodder that she didn't have to think about. As for the Sandaime Mizukage, however, he had not been spotted on the battlefield yet. Her gut told her that he wouldn't dare fight on the frontline; assuming he existed at all.

Because that was Kirigakure's best kept secret. No one had ever actually  _seen_  the Sandaime Mizukage. They'd see a vague face and form wearing the Kage robes, but that was it. There was a bigger picture that they were all missing. And if they had to tear apart the Land of Waves to find it, then they damn well did.

...

She was nearly sixteen when they discovered the truth.

The Water Daimyo had gotten greedy with the absence of a Third Mizukage and took the position for himself; he hired rogue ninja to 'become' him when the Kage needed to make an appearance. He already ran the country, why not the shinobi as well?

It was at this moment that he chuckled darkly to himself in his impenetrable fortress deep within the marshes of Water country. It was also at this very moment that his veritable "invincible" army was being slaughtered by the dozens by some very, very,  _very_  pissed off shinobi. Feeding a resistance of shinobi with just ration bars was downright inhumane, and they could only control themselves so much after finding their target's location.

Yagura was in his tailed-beast form, blasting apart the fortress' defenses with massive water bullets and she was pretty sure she could hear Kisame and Zabuza arguing over the kill count. Rolling her eyes, she practically flew up the stairs to reach the greedy Daimyo; she hoped he was shaking in his proverbial boots right now.

To be honest though, she was definitely surprised when she found him in the bath drinking sake and congratulating himself.  _Ew…most disturbing unofficial mission ever._   _I think I might vomit if he turns his back on me. And oh, Kami, is that a unibrow?_

The look of absolute shock and horror on his face was priceless. Then again it wasn't every day that the most powerful—in the political sense—man in the Land of Waves would come face to face with a member of a once-believed extinct clan covered in blood.

"You're an Uzumaki!"

Koriko sweat dropped. Gee, when did he figure that one out? Could it have been the red hair? Or it might have been the whirlpool insignia on her sleeve?

"No shit." She said before she raised her hand palm up, watching in great satisfaction as the hot spring she found the Daimyo in began to whirl in a maelstrom.

"What are you doing? You can't have a bloodline! There are none, I made sure of it!" The coward tried to move away from the whirlpool only to have it follow him. And he didn't dare leave the hot spring; that would be unsightly for him. "You won't get away with this. My army—"

"—is currently being slaughtered by  _my_  army." It wasn't really hers, but he didn't have to know that. "Hell, you're not even worthy of being assassinated by a clan jutsu." Rolling her eyes, she turned her back on him and relished the sound of his blood bursting out of his all his pores simultaneously.

"What a waste."

* * *

 

She honest to Kami did not know how it happened.

She and the remains of the resistance had just stopped by Kirigakure to drop of their wounded at the hospital when the  _Village Council_  approached her with a funny looking hat and robes. They were blue and…oh hell.

"Uzumaki-sama, you have saved Mizu no Kuni so as repayment for your service, we offer you the position of Yondaime Mizukage."

It took about point two seconds before Kisame was laughing hysterically. Zabuza actually looked like he was considering the offer for her. Even she was considering it now that she realized she had nowhere else to go. And maybe she could change the village to how she wanted it to be. That had a nice ring to it.

"I accept, honored elders. But firstly, who stood by and watched our country get ravaged by the Daimyo? I'm just asking now because if you don't say so, I'll find out anyway, and you have a choice of being executed or exiled."


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll admit that while I do know more about the Naruto universe than I did before, I'm still just going to run with what works for this story. I apologize ahead of time if there's any confusion.

What a freakin' mess.

Koriko had no idea what to do first. The entire country was in shambles and since she eliminated the former leader, she found herself in charge of Mizu no Kuni.

Great.

She was serious about killing off Council members though. Clearly they had been sitting in a position of power for far too long. She had just personally killed their "elected" leader. What made them think she wouldn't wipe them out too?

"How in the Hell am I going to run a country  _and_  a village?" She asked the ceiling of the former Mizukage's office. For now, her band of mercenaries was doing detective work on who was deserving of death and/or exile in the village. She was lucky that only one council Member was truly innocent. It was sad though; she discovered the older man in a cell at the prison. Most likely for being against everything the Sandaime Mizukage stood for. She was even more grateful when she found out the man's former profession.

Head of Kiri's Hunter Nin.

It was his fountain of knowledge that was threatening to overwhelm her. She was only sixteen for Kami's sake! And everyone expected  _her_  to make the country prosper?

_I'm doomed._

Four bottles of sake, one hell of a hangover, and a cup of coffee later, she had a basic outline of what to do. Kaito—the old man from the prison and now current advisor—has the perfect idea. In three days, she would greet her people as the Yondaime Mizukage, but during those three days…

Chakra infused seals were carved into the foundations of the village. Even though she wasn't as proficient in using seals in battle as her late relatives were, she was a damn near genius at them when it came to warding. She and Kaito agreed that keeping the rest of the Elemental Countries ignorant of the real situation was the safest route. So they would hide Kirigakure from the outside world. Everyone believed it to be a broken country anyway, so no one needed to correct that belief.

While she worked on making the village literally hidden, her 'army' had split themselves into squads, each with designated Captains relating to their profession. Zabuza took on the role of leader of the Seven Swordsmen…or what was left of it. Kisame was on a mission to find or replace the other five.

Kaito was also busy testing several squads if they had the qualifications to rebuild the Hunter Nin and ANBU forces. The shinobi of Kirigakure were certainly busy, but not too busy to help rebuild the village and reassure its citizens. They had to earn the people's trust above everything else. And if that meant helping lost children to their homes from the park at unholy hours of the day, then so be it.

It was around dawn of the third day when Koriko finished. She had figured out a way to power the seals on the foundations without suffering chakra exhaustion. She, Yagura, and the considerable amount of shinobi they now had would be powering seals that were going to be strategically placed around the village. The seals would siphon off just enough chakra to power the seals, but not enough to be noticeable by the donors.

Furthermore, Koriko coordinated with the best healers and scientists that Mizu no Kuni had to offer and together, they created a seal that would affect whoever it was applied to on the genetic level. This particular seal was similar to that of the Caged Bird Seal that the uppity Hyūga Clan in Konoha used on their Branch Members—Konohagakure really was that bad at keeping secrets. The main difference, however, was focused on the affected person’s intent. If they were _intending_ to spill village secrets, the seal would automatically shut down the person’s vital organs. The most basic way any of them could explain it was that the seal targeted malicious intent both from the person and towards them as well—this accounted for the possibility of a P.O.W.

A few of her advisor’s had questioned her on this decision and that only made Koriko feel worse. So much pressure on her and they expected her to produce miracles. Yes, defaulting to a forced suicide seemed excessive, but since those in the village had no idea of the terrors outside their village walls, Koriko felt in her gut that this was the best she could do for now. All they could do now was to run with the idea and deal with it as they went along.

...

Five in the morning was an unholy hour to get ready for a speech. Especially when you had to trip over a shark man on the way to the bathroom, and then attempt to stare at the sun to burn out the image of another swordsman stepping out of the shower.

Naked.

"What a horrible start to the morning," she mumbled as she put her dishes in the sink. She had been given a manor a few minutes away from the Mizukage tower.

"Riko-san, it's time to go." Yagura called from the front door. Putting on her geta, she joined him at the door and fought the urge to groan. Standing behind him appeared to be several dozen villagers with gift baskets.

"Oh,  _no_ …"

Yagura smirked at his friend's attitude and held up the robes of the Mizukage to wear. Grumbling in irritation, Koriko snatched the outer robe from his hands and slipped it on. However, as soon as she did, the villagers staring at her started to applaud.

Koriko was grinding her teeth by the time they reached the Mizukage tower. The crowd following her had nearly become hysterical when Zabuza joined her entourage. He didn't help at all by laughing maniacally until a well-aimed kick to the family jewels brought him down.

He was brought to the tower on stretcher.

"Idiot," Koriko mumbled as the front doors to the tower closed behind them. She was led to the Mizukage office to prepare for her speech. As she arranged her notes in the correct order, her long red hair—which had grown considerably over the years—was being braided by a civilian stylist.

"Koriko-sama, there is simply too much hair to braid. Will two plaits be satisfactory?"

"Hai," she mumbled absently, "whatever you think is best is fine with me." Half her hair was already up in a messy bun; mostly out of necessity. She never cared much for her hair. She only kept it long out of respect for her mother, who had always wanted it long.

"Wow, that has to be at least seventy-five percent of Mizu no Kuni out there," said Kisame as he looked out the window. "Hey, Riko-chan, you don't have stage fright do you—Ow! Hey!"

It took just a thought to make Kisame slap himself. Smirking, Koriko stood from her chair and thanked the stylist. "You deserved it. Time to meet the people, I suppose. Kisame, Zabuza," her toned turned serious. "I need you to be my eyes and ears during the speech." Her two teachers nodded in understanding. After the villagers found out their plans, there would most likely be chaos.

Unlike the other Kage in the Elemental Countries, she declined to wear the traditional robe and hat given to a Kage. She opted for just the outer robe and a large wooden hair barrette that with the words “Fourth” carved onto it—it’s what held up her mass of hair in the haphazard bun she preferred. Beneath the robe, she wore her typical kunoichi attire: a simple dark blue dress hemmed at mid-thigh. Short sleeved with a deep V-neck that revealed a mesh shirt beneath it. She had bandages wrapped from her knuckles up to her forearms; this hid a variety of seals she had placed on herself over time. On her feet and up to her knees, she wore black, shinobi grade leather boots.

Zabuza said it made her look like a thug, but Kisame told her she looked like jailbait.

Rolling her eyes, she shooed them away and allowed her advisors to step forward with her. Opening the doors to the balcony, Koriko was pleased to see that a fine mist had rolled in according to plan. As she stepped out to the railing, she was met with applause and cheering. But she wasn't fooled; many of the people staring up at her were living like she had lived. They were wary to trust anyone in a position of power. Raising a hand to gesture for silence, the people on the ground quieted.

Koriko has a few seconds to contemplate what to say first. The only thing crossing her mind was:  _Oh, Kami. I'm only sixteen years old, Yondaime Mizukage, and I'm expected to lead a country. Please don't let me screw this up._

"People of Mizu no Kuni; your years of suffering have come to a close. The rumors, as you can see, are true. I have defeated the fake Sandaime Mizukage and Daimyo. My name is Uzumaki Koriko and I stand here today as your Yondaime Mizukage."

This time around, the cheers sounded more sincere. Anyone and everyone in Mizu no Kuni knew what happened to Uzushiogakure, so to have such a strong survivor who fought for the same reasons they believed in was a definite plus.

"Trust me when I say that we will celebrate this victory, but we must not let the other Elemental Countries know that we are changing." That caused a murmur through the crowd. "Listen to me," Koriko's tone was harder than steel, "we do not need another Hidden Village attacking or invading while we rebuild our country. I may have defeated a tyrant but even I'm not foolish to tempt a full-fledged shinobi army to attack." She was relieved to see that many were nodding their heads in agreement.

"How will you protect us?" A brave voice called out from the crowd.

"As you all know, my Clan were known for being Seal Masters and I have retained enough knowledge to apply it to defending our village. It won't just be me defending the village, but those of you who are shinobi as well. Since I started speaking, our forces have been inscribing seals throughout our village.

"I have designed the seal to siphon off miniscule amounts of chakra from your cores. Those of you with chakra will be aiding in the defense of our village without actually doing anything but living.” She paused for a moment to calm her nerves. “I’m also issuing a mandatory sealing of every citizen in Mizu no Kuni. This seal will be genetically imprinted upon each and every one of you, ensuring that any and all information in regards to the upcoming changes will stay a secret.”

The roar of protest and anger rang louder than a clap of thunder as citizens began to rebel and attempted to leave the gathering site. Gritting her teeth, Koriko sucked in a quick breath before using her chakra to amplify her voice.

“SILENCE!”

Her anger was as palpable as a tidal wave and the citizens became quiet out of fear and awe. “How badly do you all want to live? Do you want to go back to a life where you can’t even step outside your own home for fear of not ever returning home? Do you want to exist or do you want to actually _live_?

"Leaders of the other countries  _cannot_  know of the changes that will be occurring here. And there  _will_  be changes. For the next few years there will be a rotation for the shinobi we have. Half will guard our borders and the other half will remain in the village to help with reconstruction. After today, I will be visiting the schools—both shinobi  _and_  civilian—to see what can be changed. Furthermore, I will be setting up two councils to aid me in running the village. The first council will be made of the Shinobi Clan heads and one civilian representative. That representative will be the spokesperson of the secondary council made of civilians  _for_  civilians."

Koriko was getting tired. Using her water manipulation to scribe genetic-based seals on everyone—without their knowing was taxing. The night before, she stored some of Yagura’s chakra into her own reserves just to make the attempt. As it was, she was grateful that the people below couldn't see how she was being supported by both Kisame and Zabuza.

"For the time being, there will be a grievances box made and it will be placed beside the front door of this tower. I will be very busy, but I promise I will try my best to read and figure out a way to help with your  _realistic_ problems. Now, I believe I've wasted enough time for everyone. Today is a day of celebration!"

The village cheered as confetti burst from the windows and local restaurant vendors came out with food carts. Smiling, Koriko endured the walk back inside and as soon as the door shut behind her, she collapsed onto a chair.

"Did anyone see anything?" She asked tiredly as an aid assisted her in sitting up.

"We caught the messenger birds before they reached the perimeter of the village," Kaito's voice came from the doorway. "Majority of the letters contained information that the new Mizukage was a seal master."

Koriko sighed n relief, "If that got out…" she mumbled before glancing at Kaito with a smirk, "For an old man, you sure move fast. Are the new recruits still alive?"

"They'll survive."

The water clone of Zabuza dissipated out of existence right when the real Zabuza took its place. "Riko-chan," he watched in amusement as she shifted her chair around to look up at him, "Those that tried to leave the village have been dealt with." At her inquisitive look, he held up both hands and grinned sheepishly, "They've only been detained. They're still alive."

"Tch. Barely." An irate Hōzuki Suigetsu spat out as he leaned heavily on his brother.

"You had to bring the runts here didn't you?" Kisame glared at Zabuza then gestured for the Hōzuki brothers to sit. "Look runts, we all know you want to be a part of the Seven Swordsmen, but charging off into battle with a reckless idiot is not going to win any favors."

"But—"

"Who are you calling reckless, sushi roll?"

"For the last time,  _quit calling me a sushi roll!_ "

Chuckling quietly, Koriko leaned back into her chair and smiled.  _Be proud Tou-san. I_ am _living for all of you. Kirigakure will live for our family._

* * *

 

The following week, Koriko met with the Clan Heads to discuss the ins and outs of the purpose of the Shinobi Council. The current clans with the most influence in the village were: Saionji, Takahashi, Nishino, and Himura.

The Saionji clan was mostly merchants outside of the family members who were shinobi. Before Koriko's arrival, they were mainly in charge of the trading outposts near the country borders.

The Nishino clan was agriculturally based. They had the most land to produce crops. Besides farming, they were botanists who worked in the Research & Development department of the village. Their specialty was finding highly potent poisons from the plants they experimented on. Naturally, they were known fondly as Kirigakure's mad scientists.

Now the Takahashi clan…Koriko had a bone to pick with them. When she found out that the shinobi branch of their clan ran the Ninja Academy, she was more than disappointed. Generations of pre-genin with potential were lost because they refused to change their ways; it caused Kirigakure to be continuously low on shinobi. The civilian side of the family predictably ran the civilian schools. When she read the reports on the civilian schools, she was relieved to find that they had at least integrated a self-defense class for the older years. That meant at least some of the villagers wouldn't have to depend on the shinobi to constantly be their defense.

Koriko was extremely grateful for the Himura clan; they took care of everything else in the village. Mainly, the police force so they were known as the peace keepers in the village from what her aides told her.

Now to just meet them all…

…

Himura Amane sat beside an irate Takahashi Yukio. They were at a local restaurant where the Yondaime Mizukage had reserved a private room for them to meet. From what Yukio told her, the Yondaime briefly mentioned changing the Shinobi Academy.

"But Yukio-san, isn't this a good thing? We've all been wanting for things to change—"

"You don't understand, Amane-san." Yukio ran a hand through his graying black hair. "We've always been known as the 'Bloody Mist'. It's what's kept the other Hidden Villages away all this time. What if she damages that reputation? Our enemies will—"

Amane placed a delicate hand on Yukio's. "Relax, my friend. You do remember that the Yondaime wished to work with the people right? She simply wants to consult with us on what's the best option." At least that's what Amane was hoping for. She had only been Clan Head for a few years; Yukio had been Clan Head for the past decade in a half. He had more experience than her when it came to dealing with people of higher authority.

The door to the private room opened to reveal the other Clan Heads: Saionji Hironobu and Nishino Daichi. Both had trays of food in hand from sampling the buffet. There was a note on one of their trays.

"The Yondaime will be running a little late," said Hironobu as he set down food on the table. "One of the Yondaime's aides delivered this," he gave the note to Amane, "to Daichi and me when we arrived. Apparently, there has been an assassination attempt."

"Already?" Yukio was surprised that anyone would dare to even try after what the Yondaime did to the Daimyo. "Was the assassin detained and questioned?" Even though Yukio knew the details of the Daimyo's demise, he hadn't truly believed that a teenage girl had possessed such brutality.

Daichi had already started on his miso soup. "Nope. The aide said something about a wall of blood and rags across the Yondaime's office. I assume the assassin met the same end as the Daimyo."

The room went silent except for the quiet hum of the ceiling fan. The Clan Heads were wondering why the Yondaime had simply killed instead of capturing and questioning the assailant.

The door suddenly swung open and a bedraggled Koriko stepped in. That assassin had completely ruined her day. She was trying to take a nap, damn it. She was lucky she was conscious enough to realize the voice on the other side of the door did  _not_  belong to Kisame; the chakra signature was way off. Experience from surviving taught her that the simplest answer was best.

She made the person suffer like the sad excuse of a former ruler.

"I apologize for being so late. I had to help clean up the mess I made outside my office." Her apology sounded sincere enough if the tired look in her eyes was enough to go by. "I was caught at a bad time," was all she said further on the matter. "I see some of you got a head start on the buffet. Good food here. I'm sorry; I seem to be babbling uncontrollably." She paused and took a deep breath before bowing low as a sign of respect for the Clan Heads before her. "Thank you for being patient enough to wait for me today."

In return, the Clan Leaders bowed and respectively introduced themselves one by one. Yukio was first to voice his concerns once they were all seated. "Uzumaki-sama, when you spoke the other day you mentioned making changes to the Shinobi Academy. I'm well aware that Kaito-san must have told you that I am responsible for continuing Kirigakure's bloody tradition. Please reconsider altering the tradition that has earned us our reputation." He was hoping to appeal to her apparently violent nature if today's events were anything to go by.

Koriko fought to maintain her Poker Face. Truly, she understood why Yukio did not want things to change. But it had to if Kirigakure was to survive and prosper. "Yukio-san, while the graduation exam may have earned us our reputation, it is not necessarily a good thing. Yes, our shinobi are known for their strength and determination to come out on top; however, it also lets the other Hidden Villages know just how few our forces are. The number one genin of the last generation shouldn't be carrying the weight of the expectations our people have of those who did not pass alongside him or her.

"Now as you are already aware, I have placed seals on everyone in the village for the purpose of protecting our village secrets. This includes the changes I am going to make regarding the graduation exam." Koriko had strategically placed the seals ahead of time specifically for this very reason; to alleviate the fears of the Takahashi Clan.

Amane chose the time to ask, "Just what kind of changes will be taking place, Uzumaki-san?"

 _Thank Kami someone besides Takahashi-san said something._  Koriko's poker face cracked into a smile. "My spies in Konohagakure have reported back to me about the graduation test newly promoted genin take. I have gone over the structure of their type of testing and have produced a suitable replacement to be implemented into our own Academy. For every three-man cell student team, they will be individually paired with other members of different teams. They will then undergo a test involving the incapacitation of an elite jounin picked at random. They will need to prove themselves capable of analyzing a situation and finding the right solution that benefits the 'mission'. They must show that they can think on their feet without disregarding their teammate's health or the target at hand. And above all they must prove they understand and accept what it means to be a shinobi of the Mist."

Hironobu liked where Koriko's plans were heading. "I noticed you mentioned that teams will be facing an elite jounin instead of an Academy Sensei or another student. I get the feeling you don't mean a newly promoted type of jounin."

Daichi could only gape at what he was hearing. "Surely you don't mean—the children…will they be fighting against the Hunter Nin?"

Koriko wouldn't let their expressions of shock affect her. "Some will and some won't. Yes, it does seem highly unfair to watch children attempt to challenge one of our elite, but it still teaches them the brutality that comes with becoming a full-fledged shinobi."

But Takahashi Yukio was not yet satisfied. He was hard-pressed to falter from the village tradition that the students had to learn that death and killing was no joking matter.

The Mizukage saw where his thoughts were going just by the tightening at the corners of his eyes. "Another point I would like to add is that at least one student per test will be put in a death-like state. I understand that all of our Hunter Nin has extensive knowledge of the human anatomy so making a child look dead long enough for his or her teammates to learn a lesson about just what they willingly chose for a career. Furthermore, for the students who do not pass, they will be given six months to retry."

"And if the children fail again or continue to fail? What hope do they have then?" If it came down to it, Daichi was willing to open the Nishino Labs to them. They could use extra helpers with at least some knowledge of the plants and chemicals they were handling and they would be able to partially remain in the shinobi world.

"They will be sent to the civilian schools as assistant self-defense instructors. At least there they will still have a means to support themselves yet also see who has the most potential to become a student at the Academy. Himura-san," she paused and focused her gaze on the Clan Head not much older than herself, "with your permission I would also like to give the students who fail to pass the chance to protect the village. They can be aides to your officers until they have proven themselves worthy of becoming officers themselves."

Amane could see the benefit in Koriko's planning. Most of her current officers were civilians with little to moderate shinobi training. Even the self-defense teachers in the civilian schools had just about as much training. Enlisting the help of those well-versed in the shinobi martial arts would aid the civilian population of better defending themselves. Amane was in complete awe of the sheer amount of planning the young Mizukage put together in such a short amount of time since coming into power.

After finalizing the remaining details in regards to the new education structure of both shinobi and civilian schooling, the four ruling clans were unanimous in their approval of their new leader.

 


	3. Chapter 2

Five years into Koriko's reign as Yondaime Mizukage, the now twenty-one year old ruler decided, along with both the Shinobi and Civilian Councils, that it was time to re-open their borders to the rest of the Elemental Countries. They had already established a growing friendship between Tea and Snow Country—the first territories that allowed Mist's shinobi forces to take missions from.

Little by little, Koriko let information on the rebuilt village to make its way to Leaf Village. It was imperative to re-establish relations with the village that was once a strong ally to her original home, Uzushiogakure. So during the time of the renovations, several hundred “refugees” made their way into the Leaf Village; this gave them an early start on developing their own spy network. The “refugees” were ordered to integrate themselves into the civilian life of Konohagakure by any means necessary without getting caught. As far as the reports went, two dozen kunoichi had the run of the Red Light District, while some of her low level Chūnin had become merchants and farmers. The remaining forces were composed of Jōnin and what few Black Ops shinobi they could spare; they retained their profession.

Currently, now was the perfect time after her sources in Tea and Grass country informed her of a Jinchūriki attack on Konohagakure. Fire country would soon need all the help they could get now that their numbers were significantly weakened. Just mere days ago, she had sent out a messenger hawk requesting a meeting with the Yondaime Hokage, hoping to create an alliance between the two villages, because to the rest of the world, Kirigakure was still in the process of working on their own restoration.

"Koriko-sama," Amane's voice from the other side of her office door brought her out of her thoughts. "Your escort has been assembled."

"Ah. Thank you, Amane-san. I'll be right out."

Gathering the necessary scrolls together, she sealed them away into a single earring inscribed with seals. After double-checking that her disguise was flawless, she left the office with a smile. She had traded up her shinobi attire for a kimono reserved for nobility. The finest silk was gifted to her by the Leaders of the civilian clans.

She had her people spread the news that Yagura was the 'new' Yondaime while Koriko took the position of Ambassador. No offence to Kisame—who wanted to be ambassador—but she knew he would manage to start a war if given the chance. And Zabuza was busy training his new apprentice that he had picked up in Snow Country, so giving him a position of power was out of the question. And besides, it would give her temporary relief from ruling both Water Country and the village. She knew Yagura was going to hate alternating between running the village and trainings his headstrong apprentice, Mei.

Mei wanted Koriko's title as Mizukage. Not that Koriko really cared given that Mei only wanted the title for selfish reasons and didn't really care about the village or the people in it. Not yet anyway. And attacking Koriko during her meetings with the civilian nobles wasn't improving Mei's chance either.

"Yondaime-sama…the summons?" Mangetsu, ANBU captain and member of the Seven Swordsman broke her trail of thought and brought her back to the present.

"Ah, right." Biting the tip of her thumb, Koriko slid the blood down her wrist to her palm, and then slammed her hand to the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

Wolves.

Wolves ranging from the size of bears, horses, and even buildings emerged from several dozen puffs of smoke. Akinori, the pack alpha, nosed the top of Koriko's head affectionately. "Greetings, Koriko-chan. I have brought the eldest of my children." This wolf summons was the size of the village hospital. Her oldest of pups were the size of small houses.

They could have taken the traditional way of traveling by foot instead of using summons, but where was the fun in that? They were going to travel through both the Summons' Realm and the Human Realm. There were 'pockets' of sorts of Human Realm space in the Summons' Realm—places where the wolves had been called by humans. It made traveling to the other countries faster and more efficient. They had figured only Mist shinobi with summoning contracts discovered this since Akinori stated that the Grand Animal Summons rarely shared their secrets.

…

Mitarashi Anko and Yūhi Kurenai were on border control when they noticed a faint fog sweeping through the borders. It didn't move quickly yet it rolled out through the trees and glided over the forest floor. Kurenai hid, disguised as one of the trees and caught snippets of growls, yips, and faint conversation. Alarmed she signaled to Anko to summon her snakes to get a closer look. She was surprised when Anko reported to her directly and told her that the snakes said not to worry about it. Just a pack of wolf summons passing through. No one ever questioned the intentions of a summon, nor did anyone know for sure just who held which contract. Kurenai felt it was safe to assume that the holder of the wolf contract was at least an ally.

Koriko and her escorts were shocked at the lack of security at the borders. Even though Konoha had suffered losses at the hands of a Bijū, they should have at least secured their borders now that they were so vulnerable.

"We need to hurry," Koriko felt a chill go down her spine as she recognized the demonic chakra signature that was too raw and powerful to be contained by seals. "Konoha may still be in more danger than they think. Aoi!" She barked at a coal black wolf, "Take Takayoshi and scout ahead. We don't have long until we reach the village."

"Hai, Mizukage-sama!"

She watched one of her ANBU captains take off with pride. Takayoshi was one of the nine prodigies out of the Academy and was unfailingly loyal to the village and its people. He would do his job well.

An angry, rumbling growl shook her out of her thoughts. Akinori's eldest, Kyoichi, had his fur on end beneath her. "Kurama…"

Koriko hated being right. If the Kyūbi had been released, then the cousin she had hoped was alive all this time must surely be deceased. Now she had to find out who the new jinchūriki was or what did the Hokage really do with the Kyūbi.

_Damn it._

"Come on. We'll meet up with Aoi and Takayoshi at the village gate."

"Hai!"

…

Minato sat at his desk, hands linked under his chin and elbows pressed against reports. He stared directly at the retired Sandaime, who was rocking his son to sleep.

His son.

This wasn't what he imagined at all when Kushina told him he was going to be a father. He pictured family dinners where Kushina would laugh and smile while his son laughed with her. And watching as the years would go by until it was Naruto's time to enter the Academy.

He wasn't expecting to become a widower struggling to run a village with a massive shortage on shinobi. His mentor was nowhere to be found and with news that Kirigakure wanted to become allies and was sending its Ambassador so soon after his village's tragedy…

It was quickly becoming more than he could handle.

"Yondaime-sama," Kakashi entered his office through his window; probably to avoid the aides outside the office door. "The Ambassador has arrived."

Minato dropped his head on the desk and groaned. How did they get to the village so quickly without his border patrol alerting him?

"Ah…thank you Kakashi." When his former student didn't take his leave, he assumed there was more to be told. "Kakashi, what is it?"

"Mizu no Kuni’s Ambassador; she looks too much like Kushina-san."

"That's impossible," Minato's tone was cold and hard. "Kushina and what remained of her family were the only survivors after Uzushio was destroyed."

"Actually Minato," Sarutobi stepped forward to place Naruto in the makeshift bed of reports and paperwork. "Kushina-san didn't know for sure if they were all that was left; she told me that her older relatives were fighting off the Sandaime Mizukage's forces when the attack came."

"Yondaime-sama?" A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. "A…ah, Uzumaki Koriko is here to speak with you."

Both Kakashi and Minato flinched at the name. What were the odds that a relative of a woman they held so dear would arrive so soon after her death? It was a hard pill to swallow.

“Kakashi-kun, please take Naruto somewhere safe. You’re keyed into the wards at Kushina’s old house.”

“Hai, Sensei.”

When his student left with the Sandaime Hokage, he opened his office door and braced himself for what walked through. The Ambassador truly did resemble Kushina, but her eyes were more tired and weathered than his Kushina’s. She was the same height and had the same build as Kushina, and typical of the Uzumaki bloodline, she had deep red hair.

She was dressed for nobility; the finest silk was layered into a stark white kimono with a sharp contrast of reds and oranges assembled into an autumn leaf pattern. Her hair was an elaborate design of loops and braids; half the hair was up in a braided bun, two thinly braided strands on the sides of her face linked to the bun loosely. The remaining bottom half of her hair was two thick braids that nearly fell to the hem of her kimono.

"Yondaime-sama," she bowed respectfully then bid her ANBU escort to wait outside. "I apologize for the sudden arrival, but I felt that we had too much to discuss to wait."

"Ah, I see. What did you wish to speak about, Uzumaki-san?"

"My cousin," she began, "I know that she's deceased as I can't sense her chakra signature anywhere. I also know she was the previous container for the Kyūbi. I also know that you're a renowned Fūinjutsu Master, so where did the Kyūbi go?"

That was so not what he was expecting her to talk about. She didn't even react when he used her Clan name to address her.

"I'll tell you but first, how close were you to Kushina. By relation, I mean."

"She was my cousin. Our mothers were twins. What aren't you telling me?" He was hiding something big; she could tell by the wariness in his eyes.

"Kushina…gave birth to a son before she passed. My son, Naruto. I…there was no other choice. I couldn't just ask any parent to…"

"Be grateful you didn't!" Koriko snapped as she began to pace back and forth. "I assume you didn't know the consequences of choosing a newborn outside of the Uzumaki bloodline." She internally fought to keep her killer intent in check. "But your son will have a hard life. Being a jinchūriki is no easy task. Did you never wonder why the Kyūbi was only ever sealed into Uzumaki women? I assume one of my clan's secret scrolls was your inspiration for choosing your son as its container."

Knowing that slamming his head into a wall would be seen as unsightly of a Hokage, Minato opted for closing his eyes in shame. "I'm sorry. I only assumed that the recipient of the Kyūbi had to have Uzumaki blood. I never made the connection that the containers  _had_  to be women. Can you tell me just what I misinterpreted?"

Koriko paused for a moment. She couldn't tell him that his Shodai Hokage's wife was the first to host the Kyūbi no Yōko and that her clan discovered that genetically, only the women could handle the merging on the demonic chakra with their own more efficiently than any male carrier. "As far back as I can remember," she began, "only the women in my clan could balance out the demon fox's poisonous chakra. I'm not one hundred percent sure how your son will be able to handle the merger between his own chakra and the fox's."

"But the seal I placed on him is supposed to help filter the fox's chakra so he can channel it as if it was normal."

She sat in the chair by his desk meant for guests. "I understand that, but the fox's chakra will never be safe enough to be classified anywhere near 'normal'. You may or may not have helped Naruto by doing that. The merge usually occurs shortly after they become jinchūriki; this only occurs with the Kyūbi. Because your child is male, the merge may happen differently. It can be sudden or even gradual. In Naruto's case, I'm leaning more towards gradual. But just to be safe, I advise monitoring him every six months for signs of severe distress; it could be the fox's chakra tainting the pathways of his chakra coils."

Minato swore under his breath. This information, while incredibly useful, was not something he was prepared for.

"Thank you for sharing this with me. I'll need to formulate a plan to prepare for his future. In the meantime, I understand that shinobi from Kirigakure wish to participate in the Chūnin Exams this year. Personally, I have no problem with this request but some of the other Kage are quite concerned. Now," he sat behind his desk and got out a notepad. He almost felt old; he had seen the Sandaime do exactly what he was doing now for years. "I understand that you were a kunoichi first before ascending to become the Ambassador for Mizu no Kuni. The main concern is that we don't know how genin from the 'Bloody Mist' will  _behave_  at the exams."

Koriko had to laugh; she could help herself. Little did the Yondaime Hokage know that within her village, _she_ had earned the title "The Bloody Mist". Her utter brutality of how she gained the rank of Mizukage and how she changed the entire country, crowned her the title.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I keep forgetting that the other countries are behind the times. The genin will behave appropriately. The Mizukage and I have reformed the curriculum at the Academy. They'll behave; you have my word."

"Good, good. Ah, just out of curiosity…"

She could see his sheepish smile. "Go on, feel free to ask."

"Is it true that Momochi Zabuza is an instructor at the Academy?"

Koriko tried her best not to laugh, yet her lips twitched into a grin. "In a sense," she was all she could say. Zabuza would skin her alive if she told anyone that his hobby was instructing at the pre-school academy for civilians.

…

Minato and Koriko had several meetings during her stay in Konoha; mostly on alternatives to monitor Naruto's growth. But the other meetings were supposed to be political dinners. Truthfully, the two Kage discussed Kushina; her life and her death. Koriko was even granted access to her cousin's grave—with supervision her cousin's lover and son.

They stood before the grave, Koriko rocking her nephew gently. "Kushina-chan," she kissed Naruto's temple and gave him to Minato. "It's been nine years since we last saw each other. I never expected for us to meet like this. I guess it doesn't hurt as much considering I always assumed you were dead." She closed her eyes and sighed, "But it's good to know that you got to live your life before you passed away. I have to go back home for a few months, but I promise to visit you when I come back."

The three of them left the private cemetery, looking like a family. A little broken maybe, but at least they were beginning to heal.

 


	4. Chapter 3

Koriko's time back in Kirigakure was spent training Haku on the basics of being a ninja. He was too old to be placed in one of the younger year courses and he had not yet gotten control over his ice manipulation. Koriko, who had both water and wind affinities, could understand his difficulties to a point. She ended up special ordering several sets of senbon that would be able to channel his chakra in several stages until he could form his own senbon using his bloodline ability.

When she found time away from work, she frequently traveled back to the ruins of her home village. She and the wolves spent at least two hours each visit cleaning away the debris. During her first trip, she discovered that some kind soul must have come to the village shortly after its destruction to lay the bodies of the dead to rest. Koriko was grateful that whoever buried her people left behind a piece of their clothing or jewelry on their graves. She was able to find both her mother and father based off of the trinkets left behind. She stood over their graves as her wolves finished tidying up the mass grave site.

"Hello Okaa-san, Tou-san. I…you must already know about Kushina-chan. I hope she's with you and the others." She placed the flowers down by their name markers. "I'm Mizukage now. I had a lot of help, but we changed the country to you used to tell me it should have been changed. We still have some of the old problems, but everything is getting better. And Kushina-chan has a son, if she hasn't already told you. His name is Naruto and his father is the Yondaime Hokage. The women in our family sure know how to pick 'em, ne?" She chuckled a bit then her expression sobered, "I promise I'll keep an eye on him and make sure that he'll grow up knowing about us and who our people were."

Aoi nudged her ribs, "Yondaime-sama, we need to head back."

"Aa…I know." She touched her fingertips to her lips and placed them over the graves. "I'll come back another time."

…

She was returning to Konoha with a small escort when a chill went down her spine. Something was very wrong and her suspicions were confirmed when it was the Hokage who appeared in a flash of yellow, his eyes filled with panic.

"Koriko-dono, I know this is horribly rude of me to ask, but can you spare some of your escort? Naruto has been kidnapped."

Koriko's gaze hardened, "I'll help you myself, Yondaime-sama." With a nod, her escort dispersed while she began removing the outer layers of her kimono. She sealed them into a scroll that came from her pocket and quickly formed shadow clones with orders to split up and join the search. At Minato's curious look, she replied with, "I was a shinobi before I became the daimyo remember?"

Fortunately, with the additional ninja, they were able to locate Naruto and his kidnapper on the outskirts of the village. The Konoha ANBU met with the Hokage to await orders. They found themselves hesitating as it wasn't just any hostage situation; it was their leader's only child.

Koriko didn't even bother to hesitate. Ignoring Minato and his ANBU, she signaled one of her own to separate Naruto from his kidnapper. The Kiri shinobi, partnered with one of Koriko's clones, took the enemy by surprise by incapacitating him via his pressure points. To the Konoha ninja, it looked similar to the Hyuuga Clan's Gentle Fist, but it got the job done. Naruto was safely in the Koriko clone's arms. The kidnapper tried to put up a fight—despite not having control of his own body—so the real Koriko moved from behind him and started doing a series of hand seals, then used her palm to slap the man's back. He went still and collapsed. It was a technique used by her Hunter-Nin when their goal was to capture instead of kill. With the immediate threat gone, the clone Koriko handed Naruto off to Minato and dispelled itself.

Koriko fought the urge to roll her eyes at how ineffective the Konoha shinobi were, despite their reputation. Instead, she gave Minato a pointed look that said 'you and I will be talking about this later,' before she inclined her head at her own ANBU. They were at her side instantly and continued escorting her to her hotel room.

…

Koriko sat at her desk in her makeshift office/hotel room and tapped her pen impatiently. She was signing to her ANBU in ninja shorthand. They couldn't risk anyone overhearing or guessing who she really was.

_Go to Hokage. He won't be able to revive prisoner. Tell him seal specific to our people._

The ANBU nearest to the door gave a sharp nod and bowed deeply. "Hai, Koriko-dono," he left in a swirl of water droplets, leaving an irate Mizukage to pace back and forth.

Mangetsu removed his mask and placed a concerned hand on his friend's shoulder. "Koriko-sama, what's bothering you so much?"

"I had forgotten," she mumbled as her brows furrowed in frustration, "that the Hokage had enemies from Iwa. So of course Naruto would be a target."

"There's nothing you could have done to prevent this, Koriko-sama."

"Oh, I know it's out of my control; I'm just concerned for our village's safety if it gets out to the other Hidden Villages that the Hokage's son is a relation to me. I know the 'restoration' is proceeding well, but will my involvement with Naruto's life put our people at risk?"

Mangetsu ran a hand through his already disheveled hair. He wasn't Zabuza or Kisame-sempai; he didn't know how to be Koriko's confidant. But the woman who united an entire country and gave wayward warriors a home was in distress. He would have to try his best; otherwise when the news got out, the other swordsmen were going to flay him alive.

"Koriko-sama, look at me," he waited until her jade eyes met his blue, "You are a wise ruler. It was by your ideals and your strength that Mizu no Kuni has become what it is right now. Whatever your decision, the people will stand beside you. We have always supported you and we're not likely to stop supporting you anytime soon."

In an unexpected move, Mangetsu found himself being embraced by his leader. It felt nice, actually. It felt much like it did when he first failed the Genin exam and was afraid to face his brother. Then Koriko-sama personally found him in his hiding place and scooped him up into her arms. She told him that he would have another chance, and that he would have both the support of his brother and his Mizukage behind him. It was why he, and many others, was so loyal to her.

"Thank you, Mangetsu-kun," She had forgotten the unspoken law her people stood by:

No one, be they ninja or civilian, should stand alone.

Their moment was broken by a sudden swirl of water droplets as Takayoshi returned with a bow and information.

"Koriko-dono, the Yondaime will be here shortly. He is allowing you to witness the interrogation of the prisoner since Naruto is your blood relative."

"So," Koriko smirked, "nothing to do with why he can't wake up the prisoner?"

Takayoshi's lips twitched as he tried not to smile, "It may have slipped his mind. He also mentioned that he will escort you. We," he gestured to the rest of her escort detail, "are to remain behind."

Koriko rolled her eyes. "I swear, you see one interrogation, you've seen them all. Alright, while I'm gone, see if we can borrow a messenger hawk. I need to send a letter out."

A knock at the door revealed her escort to the interrogation, the Sandaime. With a quick nod to her guard, Koriko quietly followed after the retired Hokage. He led her from the hotel to where the interrogation was taking place. She was greeted by stern looks by the ninja who worked there. _Looks like they still can’t figure out how to wake up the prisoner,_ she thought to herself with a slight sneer. Honestly, they could have just asked instead of getting their panties in a twist.

"Ah, Koriko-san," Minato greeted her with a strained smile. It burned his pride that he couldn't de-activate the seal she placed the prisoner under.

If it wouldn't cause a war, she would have smacked Minato for beating around the bush. She sent him an annoyed look before walking around him to where the prisoner sat in a chair. She glanced over at the chakra suppressors and clucked her tongue. They met the standard, but the seals could be improved. Rolling her eyes, she formed a slight mist around her fingertips, and then started doing the counter seals with her hands. The final seal layered itself onto her palm just as she pressed her hand to the man's forehead.

The prisoner jerked awake as his mouth opened in a silent scream of agony. When she removed her hand, the prisoner went still before he started shuddering with each breath.

Koriko changed her mind on watching the interrogation. She could probably get the truth out of him on her own faster than waiting for the Konoha ninja to stop pussyfooting around. Turning back to face Minato, she gave a quick bow before vanishing in a swirl of water; he was going to share the report with her anyway.

It didn't take too long for Minato to find her. She and the Sandaime were happily chatting away inside of the Hokage Mansion Library. They were talking about Kushina's Academy days and their laughter filled the room.

"Ano," Minato cleared his throat to get their attention. The look of contempt thrown at him by Koriko made him fight down the urge to look away. "Koriko-san, I have the report ready. We can talk in my office."

She tilted her head to the side and glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"Very well."

Getting up from her sitting cushion, she bowed deeply in respect to the man who told her about her cousin's childhood days. Smoothing the wrinkles of her kimono, she joined Minato on the short walk to his office. He definitely wasn't her favorite person right now; especially how long he waited to take action once the kidnapper was found. Besides that, she certainly didn't want to explain the techniques she had used just because he was upset that he couldn't figure it out on his own.

Once seated in the guest chair, she watched as Minato removed a scroll from his pocket.

"The report states that although the prisoner has been identified as an Iwa-nin, our lead interrogator has confirmed that the perpetrator was acting on his own and it wasn't a sanctioned mission. I'm waiting on a response from the Tsuchikage; I know it sound unlikely he'll confirm or deny the attack, but—"

"—you still have to try. I understand." What little respect Koriko had for him raised a few notches. But the question that begged to be asked was, "Yondaime-san, where did the Iwa-nin get his Intel?" There was a tic in his jaw and his eyes wouldn't meet hers. It had to be one of his own then.

"Minato," she only dropped honorifics when someone was being stubborn, "if or when you decide to go after who's responsible, you will have the support of both the Mizukage and I."

It took everything he had not to let his jaw drop in surprise. "But why—without even consulting the Mizukage…?"

"Minato-san, my country and village are run very differently than yours. And since our villages are considered allies, it would be in both of our best interests if I offered my help."

She had him there.

"Alright, Koriko-san. The leaf ninja who leaked the intel was Orochimaru."

Koriko's eye widened as large as saucers. "As in the Snake Sannin?! _That_ Orochimaru?!" Well, it was no wonder now why he hesitated to tell her. Koriko's mind was racing with thoughts; in all her years as Water Country's appointed ruler, she had never picked up information on Orochimaru. Well, more than what was already known.

"I see you understand my hesitation now. It does get worse. My ANBU are currently searching current properties owned by him. At this time, his whereabouts are unknown."

"I…my escort detail; they're some of the best ANBU from Kirigakure. I can lend you their assistance."

"Thank you, Koriko-san."

…

Two weeks into the search, there was still no trace of Orochimaru within the village. The search branched out to the rest of Fire Country. With the help of the Inuzuka Clan and Kakashi's summons, they tracked Orochimaru towards Water Country. When word reached Koriko, she summoned one of her wolves to relay a message to Yagura, asking him to add additional chakra to the village seals as well as double the border patrols.

While they had not found Orochimaru, they managed to find dozens of his human experiments including his missing student, and a young boy named Tenzou. Both the student and the boy were rushed to the hospital and Jiraiya was summoned to haul ass back to the village ASAP.

If Minato thought that Tenzou having the Shodai Hokage's Mokuton was shocking, then Koriko's reaction to the "Heaven Seal" on Anko was explosive. While it was true that her seals became a part of a person and could manipulate them into not being able to tell village secrets, she would never place one on a child and use it force the child to become 'stronger' with such a high risk health-wise. Luckily, the student was adamant in not wanting to ever use the curse seal; probably because the experience in receiving it was so traumatizing. And as much as Koriko wanted to help Anko, it just wasn't going to happen. The Konoha Council just barely tolerated her presence in the village and still found her to be a person of interest that they should be suspicious of. If she helped Anko, a student of the currently most wanted shinobi, they would most likely jump to conclusions and assume that Koriko was the one who assisted in Orochimaru's escape. It was enough to make her want to tear her hair out.

Lucky for her, Jiraiya had kept some tabs on his old teammate and was able to form a way to contain the seal. If Koriko were allowed to further study the "Heaven" seal as well as some of the notes left behind by the snake Sannin, she was almost positive she would be able to find a way to remove it. But since she wasn't granted security clearance nor was she a citizen, she wasn't allowed anywhere near anything related to the incident.

But that didn't mean she still wasn't going to try.

Before she became Yondaime Mizukage, her ragtag 'army' consisted of outlaws, rogue samurai, and nuke-nin. Any one of them knew how to get close to a megalomaniac like Orochimaru. So when the Kiri messenger hawk arrived with Yagura's approval of her orders, she sent back an additional order to infiltrate Orochimaru's spy network. She mentioned a few ninja she had in mind and advised Yagura to make sure the shinobi he chose knew that the mission was going to be long-term.

As she watched the hawk fly back to her home, Minato cleared his throat from behind her.

"Koriko-san, all this…none of it was my intention when you returned." At her pointed look, he scratched his head nervously, "I was wondering if you would join Naruto and I for dinner?"

She stayed silent long enough to watch him fidget nervously before she made her decision.

"I'd love to."

...

It was ramen for dinner.

It was no secret that the Yondaime Hokage was something awful when it came to cooking, and it would be rude of him to ask a guest to cook. So he settled on some instant ramen for them to enjoy. And since this was an informal dinner, both their ANBU were just outside of the Hokage Manor, but within shouting distance of course. This meant that the two leaders were allowed to chat without any scrutiny.

"Koriko-san, is there a way you can set up a meeting between myself and the Mizukage?"

"I can put in the request, but it will take some time. He's still occupied with the village renovations. It's why he and I have been exchanging so many messages lately." She had Naruto on her lap and was watching him grip her fingers with his hands. He was just so tiny and adorable. "I'll put in the request for you when the next hawk arrives."

Minato watched his son form spit bubbles that fell down his chin. His son. Even after everything that had happened so far, it still blew his mind that he had helped making something so perfect. Although his 'something perfect' was now drooling all over the Water Ambassador's kimono. Grimacing, he grabbed a napkin and dabbed at the source of his son's fountain of drool.

"Sorry about this, Koriko-san." He leaned forward to take Naruto into his arms, but Naruto had other ideas. He twisted until he rolled onto his front and decided to drool all over himself and the front of Koriko's kimono.

Koriko couldn't help but laugh as she scooped the devious child into her arms. "It's alright, Yondaime-san, I have extra clothes. Isn't that right, Naruto-chan? You can make a mess as much as you want!" She nuzzled his whiskered cheek with her nose and smiled when his pudgy hands touched her face as he gurgled in delight.

Minato chuckled and let his mind wander. Is this what it would have looked like had Kushina survived? If Uzushio hadn't fallen, would Naruto have been surrounded and loved by a sea of green-eyed redheads? He supposed that he would never know, but there were still something he could learn about his late lover's family.

"Alright, Mr. Ladies' Man. It's time for bed. You can use your womanizing moves on our guest another time." He took his son from the smiling redhead and couldn't help but laugh. Her kimono had patches of drool all down her front.

When Naruto was fast asleep, Minato headed back to the living room area and found Koriko sipping tea and wearing a simple pale blue yukata.

"I can feel you staring, you know. I made some tea, if you don't mind." She reached for the spare cup and set it on the small coffee table. "Your son is beautiful. Kushina-chan must have been so happy."

He sat down across from her, "Ah, she was. We both were incredibly happy." He paused, a little hesitant to continue but felt he just had to know. "If it's not too much trouble, can you tell me what it was like? What happened when Uzushio was attacked that turned Kushina into the woman I knew?"

Koriko breathed in the scent of her tea before taking a sip. Setting down the cup, she looked Minato in the eyes. "Not many know or even remember what life was like before the fall of Uzushio. Even my seven swordsmen vaguely remember." Closing her eyes, she caught glimpses of running around a lake, an infuriated Kushina hot on her heels. She could feel the tears building behind her eyes, but willed them away.

"I don't know what it was that Kushina remembered of the event, she was probably long gone by the time I arrived. But what I do remember, most likely happened moments after she escaped.

"I was twelve the year the attack came. I had just made chunin when rumors of the bloodline purges began to circulate across the country. My team was one of the first to go and patrol the borders. We were supposed to be on an eight month mission; most of the time we were finding the torched homes and corpses of the victims of the purge." Opening her eyes, her haunted gaze was only rivaled by Minato's grim expression. "My team and four others were ordered to 'detain' any victims found alive. Between the five teams sent out, we only managed to save seven families from persecution. That's forty-five people in eight months."

A shiver ran down her spine and her body trembled slightly, "We had just placed the last family in one of our safe houses when a jounin from the village arrived to tell us that Uzushio was under attack. The southern and western walls had already fallen and the civilians were unable to reach the emergency shelters. Needless to say, we hauled ass back to the village and met up with the other rescue teams just in time for the North gate to explode."

She could still feel the flames licking at her face and the blood of her sensei slipping between her fingers when she realized he had pushed her behind him and took the brunt of the damage.

"We were ordered to defend the civilians and help them escape. Our sensei's remained at the destroyed gate to take on the next wave of the attack." Koriko felt as though her heart was about to burst from her chest as her body began to remember the panic she felt, "I was only twelve, but I had already seen so much death. I…I disobeyed orders and headed for my family's compound. I had to know that they were safe; that my hot-tempered cousin didn't go charging off into battle."

Instead she found her uncle torn to pieces; her aunt's blood stained the walls of the entry hall. Her mother and father were yelling orders and Koriko could still hear the frightened screams of both children and adults calling for help.

"Kushina," Minato paused, "she told me she never actually saw much of the attack. Her parents forced her to escape while the escape route was still accessible."

"I'm happy, then. She would have been much different had she disobeyed her parents. Although, I'm not surprised she listened. Her father was Clan head and his word was law."

Minato was in shock. Kushina had never mentioned that to him. Then again, how many people would be willing to share such a painful part of their past?

"The manor was hit by a tidal wave; it must have been an S-class jutsu it was so strong. My mother managed to rescue me before I could drown. We found my father and headed to the front lines. I would have fought and died with my parents if my mother hadn't taken a sword to the heart that was meant for me." Against her will, tears streamed down her cheeks and her shoulders hunched as she curled into herself. "My father and I—" an image of his eyes glazing over as he told her to leave had her burying her face into her hands. "I'm sorry…I…I can't—" she shook her head violently as she began to sob.

Minato had never felt so guilty for opening his mouth.

"Koriko-san! You don't have to say anymore! This is my fault for asking!" He hurried to her side and grabbed her by the shoulders, "I'm sorry, Koriko-san!"

"N-No," she sobbed helplessly, " _Tou-san_ ," she whispered brokenly. She stopped crying long enough to jerk herself out of Minato's hold. "I have to go," she mumbled and vanished in a whirlwind of water.

Minato could only stare at where Koriko stood only moments ago. He could vaguely hear Naruto's cries of distress in the background, but his mind was solely focused on the broken look in Koriko's eyes before she left.


End file.
